Conformity: Types and explanations

What is Conformity?

When a person changes their attitude or behaviour due to ‘real’ or ‘imagined’ group pressure.

Types of Conformity

According to Kelman (1958) there are three levels of conformity:

• Compliance

• Identification

• Internalization

Compliance

• the lowest level of conformity. Here a person changes their public behaviour (the way they act) but NOT their private beliefs.

• This is usually a short-term change.

Identification

• the middle level of conformity. Here a person changes their public behaviour (the way they act) AND their private beliefs, but only while they are in the presence of the group they are identifying with.

• This is usually a short-term change.

Internalisation

• the deepest level of conformity. Here a person changes both their public behaviour (the way they act) AND their private beliefs.

• This is usually a long-term change.

Normative Social Influence

Conforming to be accepted and belong to a group.

Informational Social Influence

Conforming to gain knowledge and be ‘right’.

Strength: NSI

• one strength of NSI is supporting evidence

• Asch (1951) interviewed his pps. Some of them said they had conformed because they felt self-conscious giving the correct answer and they were afraid of disapproval.

• When pps wrote their answers down, conformity fell to 12.5% = no normative group pressure.

• This matters because evidence displays that some conformity is due to a desire not to be rejected by the group for disagreeing with them (NSI)

Strength: ISI

• One strength of ISI is supporting evidence

• Lucas et al (2006) found that pps confirmed more often to incorrect answers they were given when the maths problems were difficult.

• The pps did not want to be wrong do they relied on the answers they were given.

• This matters because the evidence is consistent across theory and research, this displays the reliability of the ISI explanation of conformity.

• HOWEVER, it is hard to tell when conformity is taking place due to NSI or ISI in studies. For example the presence of a disinter in Asch’s study may reduce NSI (social support) or ISI (alternative answer). It is hard to separate ISI and NSI, making it likely that they work together.

Weakness: NSI

• One limitation of NSI is that it does not predict conformity in every case.

• McGhee and Teevan (1967) found that students who were nAffiliators (people concerned with being liked) were more likely to conform.

• This matters because NSI does not account for individual differences which can impact the likelihood of conformity.

• It may be important to consider this in schools.

Weakness

• It is rare for both NSI and ISI to be tested in real conditions

  • Most research in this field is lab-based

  • Lab-based research is low in mundane realism which reduces the scope of its external validity